Psychopathic Records, Inc.

P.O. Box 332

Royal Oak, MI 48068-0332
www.insaneclownposse.com
www.psychopathicrecords.com
©2005 Psychopathic Records - All Rights Reserved www.hatchetgear.com
Critics of the Insane Clown Posse might
see a gimmick, or a novelty act. Some
might associate them with other
colorful acts, or find them profane and
inaccessible. But the music industry is
built on innovation and creative
freedom, and many theatrical acts have
gained notoriety-though few of them
garner the respect they deserve. Fewer
still have endured into the modern
sound, or captured a hip-hop fanbase.
Not so with ICP. While many acts cling to
nostalgia, and play to dwindling crowds
of aging fans, ICP still appeal to
History and Achievements
The Insane Clown Posse started in the
nineties with a crew and a dream,
running the streets in one of the
roughest areas of Detroit. As they got
rolling, the crew became Psychopathic
Records, and the dream became a vision
of six albums called "Joker's Cards."
Fans throughout Detroit were drawn to
their ruthless attitudes, perverted
personas, and soda-soaked stage
shows. Their followers became
"Juggalos" and ICP became the biggest
act in Detroit, and the emerging genre
of "horror-rap."
After putting out their first two albums
independently, they caught the
attention of Hollywood Records, who
offered them a major contract for their
next album, The Great Milenko. Before
long, Hollywood's parent company,
Disney, came down on the clowns and
demanded content alterations before
they would release the album. Then, on
the day of its release, and several hours
into sales, Disney recalled the album
and dropped the band. The recall leaked
to the media, and suddenly the whole
music industry was joining the Insane
Clown Posse. A bidding war broke out,
and ICP moved onto Island Records and
into the big time.
The Great Milenko went platinum, and
ICP went worldwide. An ICP
documentary video went platinum after
teenagers and retain the fans who
started out with them over a decade
ago. Some bands make concept albums,
but ICP have made a concept career, and
it is still going strong. Their Sept. 2004
release, Hell's Pit, debuted at #12 on the
Billboard top 200, and sold 75,000
copies in its first week. A DVD enclosed
with the album also earned ICP a world
record, for the first ever 3-D movie
filmed in High Definition. After 10 years
in the business, ICP are still relevant
and setting standards for independent
music.
a stint on MTV. The Amazing Jeckel
Brothers album, which featured Snoop
Dogg and Ol' Dirty Bastard (of Wu-Tang
Clan), also went platinum after debuting
at #4 on Billboard's Top 200. They
became Hollywood stars in their own
DVD movie, Big Money Hustlas, which
has also gone platinum. That makes
them multi-platinum. Howard Stern
took an interest in the group, and they
have appeared on his show a record
thirteen times—more than any other
band. They left the main stage at
Woodstock '99 covered in Faygo.
Beyond music, the Clowns pursued a
career in their other favorite field,
professional wrestling. They have
appeared on the WWF, WCW, ECW, TNA,
and as if that weren't enough, they
created and toured with their own
wrestling circuit: JCW. They even
starred in their own comic book series,
and released the autobiography ICP:
Behind the Paint. They are playable
characters in the Backyard Wrestling
video game and its sequel.
ICP's Dark Carnival inspired a music
festival, and they created The Gathering
of the Juggalos, which devastates the
countryside every year. The fifth annual
Gathering in 2004 saw over 12,000 in
attendance.
Creative differences led ICP to separate
from Island, and Psychopathic Records
became a completely independent
worldwide giant. They aligned with
Sony's Red Distribution (North America)
and Proper Distribution (Europe) to sell
their records, and set up
www.hatchetgear.com to coordinate
one of the largest music merchandising
operations in the world. In 2002, The
Wraith: Shangri-La came out on
Psychopathic, and is currently
approaching Gold certification. In 2004
they released Hell's Pit, one of the most
highly anticipated albums of their
career. As with every album, they hit the
Why Are They So Vulgar and Violent?
To understand ICP, one must first
appreciate the way urban reality and
mystic fantasy come together in the ICP
mythos. Originally, ICP were a Detroit
street gang, until fear and incarceration
eroded their membership. The remaining
few tried to make it as a rap group. This too,
proved difficult, until Joe "Violent J" Bruce
had the dream of the Dark Carnival, a
carnival of beings both malevolent and
benevolent, who would allow him to express
the conflict within him. Both Joe and Joey
"Shaggy 2 Dope" Utsler came from
struggling but loving households, but the
gang lifestyle offered a darker reality and a
more ambiguous morality. In the music,
they harness their emotional reactions to
violence and temper it with the values they
learned at home. Their lyrics acknowledge
the violence and vulgarity they have
road on tour, and played to 250,000
people across America. The Juggalos
are certainly still in the house; to quote
their agent at the William Morris
Agency: "Over 500,000 fans have seen
ICP shows since 2001 across the US,
Europe, and Australia at hundreds of
sold out shows around the world." The
Insane Clown Posse rolls on, and a
growing fanbase turns toward a horizon
which is only Calm for now…
For ICP news and a more detailed
history check out
www.insaneclownposse.com.
encountered, amplified through carnival
mystique to the point of caricature. They
offer a healthy outlet for these experiences
through power fantasies and horror
stories, revealing their audience's worst
experiences in a context so horrific, at
times it's comical. Still, these scenarios are
tempered by a moral code, with fictional
violence used to punish the guilty and
defend the innocent. The facepaint
reasserts the fantasy. To quote Violent J:
"I'm up here wearing clown makeup, who the
hell thinks this is real?" The answer is
ultimately left to the listener, but
thousands of Juggalos worldwide will
happily explain their devotion to the
"family" they find at the same concerts
where they chant "Who's Goin' Chicken
Huntin'!?!"
Paint by Numbers
Albums:
1993 Carnival of Carnage,
currently up for Gold certification.
1994 Ringmaster,
now certified Gold.
1995 Riddlebox,
now certified Gold.
1997 The Great Milenko,
certified Platinum.
1998 Forgotten Freshness 1&2,
certified Gold.
1999 The Amazing Jeckel Brothers,
currently up for Platinum certification.
2003 The Wraith: Shangri-La,
approaching Gold certification.
2004 Hell's Pit,
sells 75,000 the first week.

Videos:
1998 Shockumentary,
certified platinum
2000 Big Money Hustlas feature film DVD,
up for Platinum certification.
2003 Bootlegged in L.A. concert DVD,
shipped Gold, certified in first week.

Brushes with Billboard:

1997-1999 The Great Milenko,
sets the record for longest-running rap album in the Top 200
1999 The Amazing Jeckel Brothers,
debuts #4 on the Top 200
2000 ICP have two albums in the Top 20,
with Bizzar at #19 and Bizaar at #20
2002 The Wraith: Shangri-La,
debuts #15 on the Top 200
2004 Hell's Pit,
debuts #12 on the Top 200, #1 Independent

Reppin' the References

Recorded With:
Snoop Dogg, Ice-T, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Vanilla Ice,
Bone Thugs 'n' Harmony, Three Six Mafia,
Slash (of Guns & Roses), Alice Cooper

Press kit by N. Richart, M. Scotta,

V. Davidov, and B. Debler